How do you Advent?
We all have different Advent traditions, some are long-held and some are new. Here are some of the ways we are celebrating the Advent season across our diocese.
Whanganui Parish have published an Advent Calendar with activities in the parish that you can do each day leading up to Christmas Day. Check it out of Facebook.
The Brooklyn Anglicans have made an Advent calendar for kids their neighbourhood that hangs in the window at 2 Todman. The kids put their names in a box and one gets drawn each day during Advent and that kid wins a stocking. They are getting such an awesome response from the community! Check it out on Facebook.
Back to Bethlehem, Waikanae
Waikanae Anglican invites the local schools to visit St Luke’s church where they talk about the history of the church building, how it was built and donated to the diocese by Wi Parata, and then they present a fun-filled Christmas programme complete with a cute nativity video, games and songs. One of the Sundays in December is dedicated to going “Back to Bethlehem” when the whole St Luke’s congregation participates in a spontaneous nativity play which starts in the church and finishes in the hall.
Kara Dodds, from our Miramar-Seaton-Strathmore whānau, shares how they practice advent with their young family:
We make an advent wreath on Advent 1 every year and the children are involved in picking out the greenery and flowers, and minimally assist with assembling the wreath.
We use an advent devotional once a day (after breakfast) with the children around the advent wreath. Format is kept simple and short – we begin by lighting the appropriate advent candle/s (hope, peace, joy, love, Christ), singing one song with a waiting theme (O Come O Come Emmanuel, Come Light Our Hearts etc), reading a short scripture, the Lord's prayer and close with snuffing out the candles. The children love the smell and sight of the smoke as the candle is extinguished and take turns snuffing out the candles.
We created an Advent playlist on Spotify that we listen to each year – we love carols, but do our best to hold off singing them until Christmas (but usually only make it to the week of Christmas and then it's all carols). Related to this, my husband and I make a point of listening to Handel's Messiah together.
We build anticipation but decorating slowly for Christmas. The tree goes up on Advent 1 and each Sunday we add more ornaments. Sometimes we wait to turn the lights on until Christmas Eve. This year we turned the lights on and are taking the opportunity to talk and sing of Christ our light (see prologue of John's gospel). The children do weekly advent themed colouring pages that are strung on the wall as decoration. On Christmas day a “Merry Christmas” bunting is hung and all decorations remain up as we celebrate the 12 days of Christmas.
Revamping the children's bookshelf helps us to tell the Christmas story often. Out with the usual bedtime stories on the shelf and in with Christmas books that we've collected or have been given over the years.
Finally, we play the story. Having a child friendly nativity so they can play out the stories we've been discussing and reading in this season has been a beautiful way to make the coming of Christ tangible to little children.
It looks like a lot, but we started with small changes six years ago. Each year we've added bits and find that now we have some very easy but fruitful rhythms that help our longing hearts learn to wait for the advent of our King.
